book review: the lacuna

I'm a sucker for historical fiction. And Barbera Kingsolver's The Lacuna doesn't disappoint. It's the story  of Harrison Shepard, a young boy of half American, half Mexican descent living with his eccentric mother in Mexico. His real story begins however when we finds a job as a plaster mixer, working for the famed Diego Rivera and eventually becomes his and his wife, the volatile Freda Kahlo's personnel chef.

The story follows Harrison's life, reading from his own journal entries, and captures the dramatic and often times dangerous world in which the artists he lives with inhabit. We learn of the Mexican revolution, the emotional marriage between Diego and Freda, characterised often times by painful affairs; we witness the rise of Stalin in Russia and are introduced to Lev Trosteky and his wife who come to Mexico to escape persecution. We follow Harrisson back to America and watch him suffer whilst McCarthyism sweeps the nation. Spanning almost 30 years, we watch the transformation of the man, his life's story.

It's a moving and touching read that touches on issues of national identity and loyalty, it was a book I thoroughly enjoyed!